Tag, You're It: Hiring, Training, and Managing Student Assistants

Abstract

Library student assistants account for approximately one-fourth of the staffing in academic libraries in the United States. Each student assistant plays an important role in the daily operations of today's college libraries by providing desk coverage, technical support, and customer service. This article discusses the advantages/disadvantages of employing student assistants, the available financial sources for funding student assistants, as well as the recruitment, interviewing, training, and evaluation methods employed. The authors have worked together for ten years to hire, train, and manage the student assistants at Matheson Library, West Kentucky Community and Technical College, in Paducah, Kentucky, and use a method best described as tag, you're it.